The Aperture Incident
by The Avid Roleplayer
Summary: The massacre at Aperture Laboratories sent the entire city into turmoil. A team of detectives was formed to solve the case, among them Tim Wheatley, a moronic yet hard-working rookie who was only added so the others had someone to laugh at. But he has a feeling he'll be the one to find the killer... with the help of his friend Caroline, of course. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1: Introducing Tim Wheatley!

The entire city was restless. Rumors flew around in the air like bees, stirring up excitement in person after person. They all had their suspicions, but nobody knew for sure who had done it.

The police had only just found the scene of the crime: Aperture Laboratories, the city's famous science center, had apparently been stormed by an unknown attacker. The victims had died at just about the same time, and there were no wounds of any sort on their bodies, or evidence of being strangled. Everyone was completely stumped.

The chief of the police force, Mr. Newell, immediately arranged a team of detectives to work on the case. It was a mixed bunch; there were men and women of various experience levels and nationalities. Among them was Tim Wheatley, a rookie detective who was really only added to the team for comedic relief. He had never solved a case this big before, and was very nervous about the whole thing.

One day, after the team had gone another hard day without discovering the slightest thing, Wheatley rode home on his bicycle with one thought on his mind: Why am I even here in the first place?

He stormed into his apartment and slammed the door. "Dammit, Rick," he shouted at his roommate, "I can't do this. I just can't do this!"

Rick, a self-proclaimed "lady killer" with a smile that was just begging to be slapped, slowly strolled out of his room to greet his friend. "Hey, look who's back! It's the master detective. How'd the meeting go?"

Wheatley sighed. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This guy's a bloody genius!"

"Well, I'm sure an intelligent man like yourself would be able to crack the case," he said in a mocking tone.

"You're hilarious, Rick." Wheatley deadpanned.

"Oh, I know."

"Thanks," he yelled as he walked out the door again. "Big help."

Wheatley kicked the ground in frustration. He was beginning to lose confidence. Murders usually proved to be among the easiest cases to solve, especially mass killings like the one at Aperture. Ah, well. Maybe I should take a walk. Some exercise might help me think, he thought to himself.

As soon has he had started on his way, a woman wearing a black jumpsuit collided with him head-on.

"Oh, my god! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

He rubbed his head. "No, it's quite all right. I wasn't looking where I was going. Just going for a nice walk, clearing my head, all that. Have a big case to solve..." His voice trailed off as he lost his train of thought.

"A big case, you say? Which one?"

"Well, you know, the killings at Aperture and all."

"Oh." She seemed a bit nervous for a second, then regained her composure. "Aperture, huh? I've heard of that. I worked there a while back, you know."

"That's great! Maybe you could help me!" he said excitedly. "Oh, and my name's Wheatley, by the way. Tim Wheatley."

"I'm Caroline. It's nice to meet you, Tim." She stuck her hand out for a handshake, which Wheatley awkwardly returned.

"Caroline? That's, um, that's a lovely name. Er..." Wheatley blushed. He had never been the best at making friends.

She held out a slip of paper. "Here's my card." Just then, her phone rang. As she fumbled around in her pockets to find it, he could faintly hear the lyrics of her ringtone.

This was a triumph  
I'm making a note here, huge success.  
It's hard to overstate my satis-

"Sorry," she laughed sheepishly as she pressed the 'Accept Call' button. "Yes? Yes, this is Caroline. No, sorry, I haven't seen him. Okay. Okay, bye!" She hung up, rolling her eyes. "That's the third time today she's called me. I swear..."

"Er, that- that song," Wheatley stammered, "what's it called?"

"Oh, that?" Caroline said dismissively. "It's called Still Alive. It's by... an acquaintance of mine."

"That's amazing! What's their name?"

She paused for a few seconds. "Her name's Gladys."

"Gladys... Johnson?" His pupils got noticeably smaller. She nodded. "But isn't she, er..."

Caroline sighed. "Yes, she's a wanted criminal. And the one people suspect to be the Aperture killer. Personally, I think all of that's a load of bull."

"S-so... you know her?"

"Technically. We used to work together." She sighed again. "Anyway, I have to go. My friend needs a ride and she's probably waiting for me right now."  
"Oh. O-okay."

And just like that, she was gone.

[AN: So, how'd you like it? It's a bit short, but yeah. The next one will be longer, I promise! Review if you have any comments or suggestions! -TAR]


	2. Chapter 2: Exploring the Crime Scene

Wheatley stared at the number on the card Caroline had given him. Had she been... flirting with him? Did she like him? He had heard that if a woman gives a man her contact information, it was a sure sign she liked him. But then again, they had only just met...

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the time on the digital clock sitting on his nightstand. It was 12:47 in the morning. He needed to go to sleep. He had already stayed awake researching everything he could find on Aperture Laboratories, trying to get ahead on his work.

He had debated with himself over whether or not to call the others, to find some help. Curia, Craig, Morality... they all had tons of experience. But he wanted to do it himself. So that he could show the world what he could do.

Suddenly, he was startled by a loud beep coming from his laptop. Someone had sent him an email. Groggily, he stood up and trudged over to his computer. He nearly fainted at what he saw. The email... was from Gladys Johnson.

Hello, Timothy Wheatley. Yes, I know who you are. I know where you are as well. That's the difference between you and me. You have no idea where I am. Or who I might be.

I've had my eye on you for a long time. Do you really think this is all worth it? All this trouble? Researching late at night, asking strangers you literally ran into on the sidewalk for information... and speaking of which, how is Caroline? Are you sure you can trust her? She could be a spy. Or the killer herself. She did say she used to work there, you know.

And do ever so kindly put your jaw back where it was. It looks rather unattractive just hanging there. You look even dumber than you actually are. And that's saying something. Ciao!

-Gladys

Wheatley flew into a panic. "Oh. My. Bloody. God. She's been following me, she knows who I am... fuck. I'm going to die, Rick's going to die, Caroline's going to die, we are all going to bloody DIE! "

Rick, awakened by all the noise his roommate was making, threw open the door and rushed in with a worried look in his ivy-green eyes. "Whoa, Timmy! Everything all right in here? Is someone after you? 'Cause if there is, I'd be more than glad to teach them a lesson."

"Er... thanks for your concern, Rick, but nobody's actually, um, chasing me. At the moment, that is. I just got this email and I'm kind of wor-"

"Blackmail? Death threats? Ransom notice? What? I won't let him get away with doing that to my friend!"

"Actually, Rick, it's a girl."

"Oh." Rick looked a bit embarrassed. "Well, then, er, I'll give her a very stern talking-to." He scratched his head. "Do you know her name?"

"Yeah," he said hesitantly. "Gladys. Gladys Johnson."

Rick froze. "What!?"

"I know," Wheatley groaned.

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. A woman's voice, speaking in a concerned tone, could be faintly heard. "Mr. Wheatley? Are you all right?"

Wheatley ran to answer the door. He was pleasantly surprised by who he saw. "Caroline? How'd you... how'd you know..."

"Your lights are on, silly," she laughed, making him smile. "Besides, you were making such a riot that I could hear you from upstairs!"

"Wait. You live upstairs? I thought you were from someplace different."

She shrugged. "Kind of weird how things turn out, you know? Anyway, I heard what you two were talking about. Gladys, huh? Scary. Maybe she's friends with the killer." Her amber eyes widened.

"Caroline..." Wheatley said softly. "Let's go to Aperture. Right now."

Caroline looked slightly surprised. "It's the middle of the night, Tim."

He ran a finger nervously through her pitch-black hair. "I know. That's why we have to go now."

"Are you sure?"

Wheatley didn't say anything. Instead, he grabbed her by the hand and raced off towards the laboratory. He had a bad feeling in his gut that they were both in danger.

-o-

As soon as they arrived, Wheatley pulled out a flashlight and waved it around, trying to scare away any possible attackers. Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Tim," she said in an annoyed tone of voice, "you don't really have to do that."

They were both surprised when they heard a faint coughing noise. Wheatley had found someone. Someone alive.

"H-hello?" Wheatley said hesitantly. "Who's there?"

Somebody crawled towards them out of the shadows. It was a young woman with golden skin, long brown hair, and grey-blue eyes. She appeared to be hurt.

Wheatley and Caroline relaxed noticeably upon realizing that she wasn't trying to harm them. Caroline took a few tentative steps towards her. "Hello? My name's Caroline. Are you okay?"

Caroline leaned in to get a better look at her. Upon closer inspection, she had a few scrapes and cuts, but nothing a bit of water and a Band-Aid wouldn't fix. She knelt down to be at her eye level and said softly, "We won't hurt you. We're just looking around. What's your name?"

"Chell," said the woman. "My name is Chell."

[AN: The plot thickens! Dun dun dunnnnnnn! Yeah, I couldn't wait long to upload the next chapter so here it is! Hope you like it! Aaaaand I just noticed it's even shorter than the last one. Darn. -TAR]


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